El Caco

Biography

El Caco is a stoner rock band from Lillestrøm in Norway. They formed in 1998 and consist of lead vocalist and bassist Øyvind Osa, guitarist Anders Gjesti and drummer Fredrik Wallumrød.

History

Their debut album Viva was released on March 29, 2001. They were represented by the Music for Nations record label which led to extensive touring.
In an interview with Orpheus Spiliotopoulo from Metal Temple magazine, vocalist/singer Øyvind Osa stated the band's support for Music for Nations by saying,"They're working really hard for us. I think the most important thing is that they really enjoyed the album. We've also signed a good contract with them." The band has remained a trio from its beginning which Oyvind explained in the same interview as to whether they would add another guitarist or keyboard player by saying, "I think it's easier being three people than being four or five. We get along together very well, we've got a good team and we've played together for so many years. We tried to be like four or five members but it didn't work out."
After touring with the bands Nebula and WE they recorded the album
Solid Rest which was described as "hard and melodic" and a progression to a "full-blooded hard
rock band with strong hints of metal"
on June 16, 2003.

In 2004 they performed at the Bukta Tromsø Open Air Festival held in Tromsø, Norway. The band released the album The Search×The Search22 August 2005 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Someone New3:292Stuck to Deteste2:483Underneath4:454Fallen3:495Substitute4:146Dislocated4:297Leaving3:458Lord It3:009Straitjacket4:2810The Tender Sin3:0311Down the Lake24:34 through Black Balloon Records on February 20, 2006. It was self produced at the band's own Sound Riot studios with the vocals recorded by producer Daniel Bergstrand in Sweden who also handled the
final mixing. The Search won the 2006 Alarm Award which was described as "Norway's most important indie award"
for the "Metal album of the year" category which was held at the Sentrum Scene in Oslo. They performed at the 2006 version of the Great Indian Rock (GIR) festival in New Delhi, India as one of the first international acts to attend.
The band then released the 2007 album From Dirt×From Dirt5 March 2007 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Beyond Redemption2:492The Ones Remaining4:063Crash & Burn4:154Solid Rest (Seasonal Affective Disorder)4:485Shadows of Undone4:166Nervous Breakdown Hide & Seek3:357From Dirt4:178Code Red4:589Honey Tree4:1610Love Delayed4:0911White Flag3:34 which was described as being full of
"lots of loud, grinding guitar riffs, raspy vocals, and big fuzzy grooves galore."
In 2007 they were among the headliners of the Parkenfestivalen which takes place in Bodø, Norway.
During this time Fredrik Wallumrød replaced Thomas Fredriksen as the band's drummer and they continued on
releasing the album Heat in 2009.
They were the support act for the European Carnage Tour of Megadeth and Slayer in 2011. Later in the year they signed to Indie Recordings Records.
In 2012 they released the album Hatred×Hatred10 January 2012 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Hatred3:35, Love And Diagrams.
The album was nominated for the 2012 Norwegian Spellemann award for the "Metal" category.
In 2016 they released the album 7.
This was followed by the 2023 album, Uncelebration×Uncelebration21 April 2023 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1The Taste of Wine4:282All in Favour4:153The Contortionist5:264Inventor5:275Pockets4:516Oxygen Loss5:597Losing It All3:558Uncelebrate5:079In Pieces4:01 produced by previous collaborator Daniel Bergstrand.

Musicians

Øyvind Osa – lead vocals, bass
Fredrik Wallumrød – drums
Anders Gjesti – guitar
Former musician
Thomas Fredriksen – drums (1999–2007)